“Okay,” I said. “We’ll make the preparations.”
That night was one of the most stressful of my life. Things felt like they were coming to a head. The atmosphere was tense and nerve-wracking as Maddy and I packed. Even though we were going on a private jet, we decided to just do one carry-on bag each and a couple of backpacks. The last thing I wanted was to be lugging around a ton of luggage on what was supposed to be a secret recon trip.
That night, neither of us slept for shit, and the next day seemed to crawl by. We’d decided to fly out at night, hoping anyone watching might lose us in the darkness. I had a feeling that there were still eyes on us, and I had no plan to reveal our plans in the light of day.
Felipe and Sebastian came over right after dusk to see us off. Felipe put our bags in the back of my car and hugged Maddy and me in turn. “Be safe, guys. I’ll be really fucking pissed if you get killed over there.”
“Nice pep talk, Felipe,” I said, hugging him back.
Sebastian was uncharacteristically quiet and also hugged us both. If I didn’t know better, it seemed like he might have been on the verge of crying. I put a hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes. “We’ll be back soon, bro.”
Sebastian nodded, flashing a feeble smile. “Yeah, yeah. See you guys soon.”
He hugged Maddy, then we got into the car and drove away. There was a strange finality to it, as well as a nagging feeling that now that we were on our way, things would never be the same again.
I hoped I was just being paranoid, but the feeling wouldn’t leave. Maddy must have felt something similar because she sat beside me, not uttering a single word. She seemed lost in thought.
We’d barely gotten over the county line when things started to feel weird. I slowed the car, knowing something was off. I couldn’t even describe it, but it felt like someone was standing right behind me. I could almost feel the breath on my neck.
“What’s wrong?” Maddy asked, noticing I’d slowed down.
I’d chosen to take some back country roads to the airport, hoping it would throw off any tails we might have. As we crested the hill, I saw that my plan had been for shit. There were three cars parked across the road, blocking us from going any further.
“Oh no,” Maddy whispered.
“Grab my phone. Text the guys that we’ve got an issue,” I said, bringing the car to a stop.
I glanced in the rearview mirror, hoping to back up and make a quick U-turn. Instead of an open road, a massive SUV with its lights off pulled out of the woods to block our escape. Son of a bitch. I’d never even seen the car as we came through.
This was bad. I did my best to look calm for Maddy, but I was freaking out inside. I put the car in park and stared through thewindshield. My fingers gripped the steering wheel so hard, my knuckles were white.
Javi stepped out of the shadows. He raised his hands, gesturing that he was unarmed, and nodded at me to get out of the car.
Maddy curled her fingers around my thigh. “You can’t. Nico, you can’t go out there.”
I sighed. “There’s not much else we can do. I’m sorry. I guess I didn’t plan this as well as I thought. At least out there I’ll have a shot. If it goes bad, I can shift and try to fight them. Give you time to run.”
Maddy’s eyes were full of tears as she shook her head, flinging her hair back and forth. “No. They’ll kill you.”
I put my hand on her cheek. “Let me see what Javi has to say. If you see me start to shift, that’s your signal to run. Got it?” The remarkable calm in my voice surprised me.
Maddy didn’t agree. All she did was loosen her grip on my leg. I took that as acquiescence. I opened the door and stepped out slowly, holding my own empty hands above my head, then stepped towards the front of my car.
“Hey, Nico.”
“Hey, Javi. Can I help you with something?”
A rustle of noise came from the right and left. I glanced around and saw more of Javi’s pack coming out of the woods. We were fully surrounded. He had at least a dozen guys out here.
I had no chance. I was an alpha, but even then, there was only so much one shifter could do. My wolf was snarling and snapping inside my head, itching for a fight. My human mind calmed him and tried to think of a way out. I wasn’t successful.
Javi put his hands down. For the first time, I noticed he didn’t look well. His typical cockiness was missing. Instead, he looked worn-down and exhausted. There was fear in his eyes. I could see it, but I had no idea where it was coming from. He hadme dead to rights. The guys were at least thirty minutes out, if they even got the message. Felipe and Sebastian would never get here in time. What did he have to be afraid of?
“Well?” I asked, trying to fill my voice with as much courage as I could muster.
Javi glanced down at his boots before answering. “Nico, I’m not here to fight. I’m not here to capture you, and I’m not here for Maddy, either.”
I looked at him for a long moment and cocked my head. I wasn’t sure I’d heard him correctly. “Then what are we doing here?” I asked.
